


Who do you think you are?

by BetweenMeandtheInternet



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Past Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape/Non-con Elements, Torture, Violence, just a lot of unnecessary violence, lots of character issues, they probably need a lot of help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 12:34:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7508437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetweenMeandtheInternet/pseuds/BetweenMeandtheInternet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and his men are on a mission when suddenly they are blindsided by a newcomer. Determined to be knights in shinning armor, how will they feel when they become the ones that need saving?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who do you think you are?

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever fan-fic so it might be a little dramatic lol. Sorry for any crappy writing - the hazards of typing at 2 am.

“Merlin get down!”  
Arthur grabbed my shoulder and yanked me to the ground, effectively giving me a face full of dirt. Before I could make any noises of protest his hand slapped itself against my mouth. It was then that I heard the footsteps.   
I layed on the ground absolutely still. As the footsteps grew closer I closed my eyes and pictured the setting. Arthur himself laying half on top of me. One hand covering my mouth and the other reaching for his sword. My lithe body frozen beneath him. Honestly at any other I would have found this quite comical. Hell, I would have accused Arthur of enjoying himself on top of me a little too much; the perfect setting for a romantic intrigue. It was hard to remember at the moment that we had a better chance of being killed.   
Painstakingly the footsteps slowed until they halted right next to me. My heart stopped. I probably could have told you what the man ate for lunch and when the last time he bathed was, but all I could focus on was his foot exactly 2 inches from my face. It felt like years passed. Kingdoms rose and fell, battles won and lost, and lovers found and cherished all while I lay next to the man who could in a moment's decision end my life.   
After an incredibly brief eternity the man shouted in a gravely voice,  
“All clear o’er here!”  
I didn’t realize I had been holding my breathe until I wasn’t. As the small giant walked away I took my time filling my lungs with cool air, thanking god I was alive.  
“You didn’t mess yourself did you Merlin?” Arthur said as he took his hand away from my mouth to mess up my hair. Carefully he picked himself off of me and shifted until we were laying side by side. He turned to look at me and even with the mischievous glint in his eye I could tell he knew too that it had been a close call.  
“Not like you dollop head” I mumbled as I flattened my hair down.  
“What was that?”  
“Nothing at all my lord,” I said as I gave him a sarcastic smile. We both knew exactly what I said. Arthur reached out to give me another wap upside the head when we heard the shouting. Quickly he dropped his hand and shifted himself forward enough until he could see through the dense foliage. We had chosen this spot for its perfect vantage point. Even though it was inside the perimeter of the guards the thick brush around us hid our bodies well from above. Unless someone directly stepped on us, no one would notice our presence. I had to shift a little to see through the brush in front of me, but once I did I almost wish I hadn’t.  
Little more than a foot from my nose the forest ended. It was here that a group of men were dragging a lifeless body in between them, completely oblivious to the eyes that were watching them. Their campsite was impressive. Somewhere between 40 and 50 trained soldiers had set up in a tight circle. In the center was a bonfire where some stood preparing dinner for the many other mouths to feed, while everyone else had set up around them. The bed rolls of the entire company took up an impressive amount of space, but that wasn’t what worried me.   
Directly across from our vantage point stood a cliff face hundreds of feet tall. Honestly I am no good at guessing, but all I can say for sure is that no one would be scaling that anytime soon. To our left was a straight drop off and you could hear the water rushing leagues below. It wasn’t the type of place you wanted to practice a dive off of unless you wanted a quick trip to an early grave. With both of these feats of nature blocking two routes of escape the only ways in or out of the campsite was through the guards behind us and to our right. I guess no one said this would be easy.  
More shouting drew my attention back to the lifeless form in front of me. While the sun was only beginning to set, it was still hard to make out its features. They had dragged the body out of the forest to our right and had only stopped in front of us as if to wait for a judgement. The two men holding it’s weight threw the figure on the ground and the two men behind them snickered as they watched. I didn’t think the figure was alive until I saw them draw a shuddery breath. It was small, almost undetectable, but me lying on the ground a mere two steps away I could see almost too much.  
I saw that the shoulder length hair was more of a brown then the black the dirt had given it. I saw the body of a boy, maybe 13 or 14, that was small and clearly malnourished. I saw his soft face almost entirely covered in clay and earth. I saw the way his body fought the urge to curl in on itself, seemingly from undeniable pain. I knew I saw too much. Just as I was going to look away, more out of guilt then cowardice, his eyes opened. They adjusted almost instantly and found themselves locked on mine. His eyes were a deep brown clearly filled with pain and sadness, but there was something else that should have been unmistakable. Every time I tried to grasp it the thought flew away as quickly as it came. It’s like his eyes had a secret that I knew, but I simply couldn’t remember.  
It was then that I froze. If I moved I know I would be discovered, but if I didn’t the boy could just as easily turn us in. As this argument went on in my head more footsteps approached.  
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” A man in all black stopped in front of the boy’s body. Suddenly I found myself not being able to breathe again. The man himself was something made of legends. His entire body was encased in a black chain mail that rattled every time he took a step. Around his waist rested a single ax, dried blood covering its sharp head. In the end it was his face that would keep you up at night. Half of the skin from his nose to his ear was rotted black and the other half was formed into a twisted smile. The eerie nature of his eyes drove anyone to believe that the only emotion he was capable of was bloodlust.  
One of the men that had dragged the boy in stepped forward. He looked like a spider with his limbs too long for his body and hair that clearly hadn’t been washed in years dreaded into a long mane down his back. While he may not have been overly threatening he had a presence that would make even the fiercest warriors’ skin crawl.   
“We found ‘im in the woods m’lord. He was just lyin’ there in the dirt when Dram alm’st trip o’er him. He moved to put up a fight but when he seen the ot’ers he just sat on the ground. We made sure to knock ‘em around a bit so ‘e learn a lil respe’t, but it was only la’er we found out he was a mute m’lord.”  
“A mute you say?” He stared down at the boy with a gaze that could stop the faintest hearts.  
“Get him up,” two of the soldiers stepped forward again heaving the boy to his feet. This time the boy did not hide his face, but instead stared straight back into the dark one’s eyes. An amused look crossed the part of the man’s face not marred by disease.   
“A stubborn one I see. But a pretty face. The ladies at auction will certainly pay a fine price for a go at you. No voice might do you well.” With that he signalled to the soldiers to drag the boy away towards the dark cliff face.  
Along the back of the camp I could see faint figures huddled up against the rock. Fifteen or so bodies clung to each other, eyes turned up at the new arrival. The boy was dragged to the side and fitted with shackles across his wrists and ankles, he couldn't run even if he tried. As the last chain was put in place an old soldier with a wheelbarrow came and stood in front of the prisoners.  
“Dinner time!” He reached inside and began throwing the stale bread at them. Immediately, the prisoners became ravenous and started fighting with each other for the scraps of food. The man stared and laughed throwing food where he knew he would get a good show. When he was satisfied with the performance he started to walk away. Many of the prisoners stared listlessly at the wheelbarrow, most unable to fight their fellow prisoners for dinner. It was then that something happened.   
Just as I had started breathing again after the boy was dragged away I stopped again when I witnessed the boy’s actions almost in slow motion. The boy was being dragged by the guards to other prisoners when he passed the food. As he was almost out of reach he kicked out his foot and the chain wrapped itself around the wheel. The soldiers continued to drag the boy and that was when the entire cart tipped over. Bread was spilled all over the ground and the prisoners lunged at it. They were shoving it in their clothes and in their mouths, anything to protect the precious gift. The soldiers dropped the boy to the ground and started shouting at the other prisoners. It was chaos. No one was paying attention to the small little boy who was trying to unsuccessfully hide the smile on his lips.  
I found myself smiling too, until Arthur grabbed my wrist. I turned to look at his face and saw a look of fear hidden in his eyes. He gestured to left and I froze when I saw what was happening. The man in black had watched everything that had occurred and the expression on his face made my blood run cold. He slowly walked towards the chaos and with every step the people grew more and more quiet. By the time he was standing in front of the cliff face the only sound that remained was the ragged breathing of the prisoners. He stopped at the feet of the young boy, bound in shackles, with still a ghost of pleasure on his face. I held my breath.  
“You find this amusing boy?” The hint of amusement on his face disappeared and he did nothing but stare.   
“I said - Do you find this amusing boy?” The man moved so quick it was practically a blur. Almost instantly his boot was on the boy’s chest pressing so hard the boy started to choke.   
“If you can’t answer then surely you have no real reason to breathe?’ The young boy’s eyes flashed with fear as he started to claw at the man’s leg. He was being crushed to death and it was impossible to do anything but watch. Just as I thought the boy had reached his end, the man stepped off. The boy rolled over, coughing and wheezing, clutching at his newly freed chest.  
The man in black turned to his soldiers, “Grab him! Bring him with me!” The same men as before appeared and dragged the broken boy to his feet. His lips were still tinted blue as he was dragged back to the clearing right in front of us. This time when he made it he wasn’t thrown to the dirt.  
“String him up! Make sure the boy can’t move - I want to see him gagged!” The soldiers moved quickly and with purpose. They kept his shackles on and threaded a rope between his hands to string him up in the tree. They tied a dirty rag in his mouth and when all was done the boy was hanging two feet off the ground an arm’s reach away. The pain on his face was so real my body went numb. I moved to shift backwards when my foot caught a branch - the snap was deafening.   
All the soldiers froze. The man in black stared directly into the bushes and moved to take a step towards our immobile bodies. Just as Arthur reached to his side to grab his sword, the boy moved. He kicked both his chained feet so hard that they caught the chin of the man in black. As his head snapped backwards the boy turned his head and once again I felt his eyes meet mine. There was a brief ghost of a smile, but it didn’t last for long.   
The soldiers lunged grabbing his body when the booming voice of their leader rang through the forest, “You think you can attack me boy! It is time you learned some respect!” The man in black withdrew his axe and my body tensed, as if ready to lunge. Arthur grabbed my shirt and yanked it back tight against my throat, but when I turned it looked as if Arthur was ready to do the same. At that moment I heard a thundering crack. My head whipped back around and my eyes saw as the man’s axe recoiled of the boy’s head. He had used the blunt, flat side to strike the kid across the face. Even so I could tell the damage was severe. Blood was flowing from the brow bone of the boy and the left side of his face was already beginning to swell. He looked dazed, but thankfully still conscious.   
“Oh boy I promise, you are far from done.” The man’s twisted and rotted face smiled, making a cold sweat run down my back. He replaced his axe and reached out his hand to the spidery looking soldier. In his hand was placed a black whip, the tip glinting with a piece of forged metal. As the man who was clearly more monster than human uncoiled the whip and walked around to his back, the boy shut his eyes. Around the gag in his mouth it looked like his lips were trying to form words, the desperation making it look more like prayers. I shut my eyes as I heard the whistle of the whip fly through the air.  
CRACK  
Arthur’s fingers dug into my arm as we both heard the loud moan of pain.  
CRACK  
I buried my face in the ground as the groan became more of a whimper.  
CRACK  
The whimper was louder and more desperate, like Arthur’s hands clawing into my skin.  
CRACK   
There was an animal like shriek, muffled but still heard.  
CRACK  
There was silence.  
I lifted my head to see the boy’s beaten face seemingly unconscious. As he swung we caught glimpses of his torn shirt and bloodied back glinting from the last rays of sunlight. The monster turned, “Leave him here. If he’s still alive in the morning we can drag him with. It isn’t far now.”  
All the soldiers who had been watching turned and followed their leader back to camp. I could have stared at the boy’s broken body all night, but Arthur grabbed my shoulder, “Merlin we have to go.”  
“Go? We can’t leave him!” Arthur looked at me with pity in his eyes.  
“We have to. It’s the only way we can save him.” And with one last look at the motionless body hanging from the tree we both stood up and made our way through the night.


End file.
